Occasionally a crocheter encounters a project that does all that it can to defeat her (or him).

Yesterday, while I was surveying the many and varied projects that my ravelry friends are working on, I saw this photo posted:

Curious, I clicked on the link to the project to learn more.

What I learned was that a project, ironically named “The Puritan Bedspread” was bedeviling one of my friends.

Here is how the square appears when worked with a number 7 steel hook and the original, mercerized cotton thread called for:

Designed by Cecilia Vanek, this pattern for the motif that comprises the Puritan bedspread was the source of my friend’s consternation.

After a search of the available information, I learned that the pattern for the Puritan Bedspread appears to have been first published in 1940, with subsequent publications in 1946, the 1950s, and the 1960s. Then, at some point in the early aughties, the pattern was published online by Christine Anderson at the now-defunct Celt’s Vintage Crochet.

While Celt’s Vintage Crochet did not work out as Ms. Anderson had hoped, her efforts have been archived at The Way Back Machine (which has the goal of archiving the internet), and the wonderful (and at times exasperating) vintage patterns Ms. Anderson worked so hard to preserve can still be accessed here.

While I will not be working this pattern with a number 7 steel crochet hook and thin, mercerized thread, I am looking forward to joining my friend in the challenge of attempting to decipher the directions for this 71-year-old pattern.

I have every confidence that when I apply my 4.5mm hook and the rainbow of worsted weight colors that have safe haven in the closet of my crochet empire, I will have a memorable experience and an equally memorable square.